The fire has engulfed several settlements in Greece and is spreading rapidly due to gusts of wind.
A massive forest fire continues to burn in the east of Crete, Greece, forcing the evacuation of about 5,000 people, mostly foreign tourists. The flames engulfed the area between the settlements of Ferma, Achlia and Agia Fotia.
This was reported by the publication Ekathimerini.
The fire is spreading very quickly due to strong gusts of wind, which reached 9 points on the Beaufort scale. The fire has divided into three main fronts. According to the fire service spokesman Yannis Vatrakogiannis, extinguishing is complicated by numerous new fires caused by the wind.
230 rescuers, 46 pieces of equipment, 10 helicopters, drones, engineering equipment, fire trucks, as well as police, coast guard and medical personnel are involved in extinguishing the fire.
The Chairman of the Ierapetra Hoteliers Association, Georgios Tsarakis, reported that the evacuated tourists were temporarily accommodated in the Ierapetra gym and hotels in other regions.
According to Ierapetra Hospital, six victims were hospitalized – three with breathing problems, two with minor injuries and one person with limited mobility.
The fire caused power outages and mobile phone service outages in a number of areas. It is not yet known how many buildings burned down. Additional forces are arriving in the region from Athens. The cause of the fire is being investigated by investigators from the fire corps group.
It is worth noting that Greece had previously reported an extreme level of fire danger. The combination of high temperatures and strong winds creates conditions for the rapid spread of fire. Several regions of the country have declared the highest level of danger – red.
Let us recall that due to the heat, Switzerland, which rarely experiences such weather phenomena, was forced to shut down one of the power units of the nuclear power plant due to overheating of the water used to cool the reactors.
